Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he wants to normalize relations with Russia but doesn’t understand what kind of a "first step" Moscow was expecting from Ankara.

Speaking to journalists on May 31, Erdogan said Russia had sacrificed its relations with Turkey due to what he described as a "pilot error."

The comments come after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ankara should take the first step to mend the damaged ties between the two countries, which soured after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane over the Turkish-Syrian border in November.

Ankara refuses to apologize for the incident, saying the aircraft had strayed into Turkish airspace, which Moscow denies.

Russia has imposed sanctions on Turkey and trade between the two countries plummeted.